Andrew M. Manis is associate professor of history at Macon State College in Georgia and wrote this for an editorial in the Macon Telegraph.

Andrew M. Manis: When Are WE Going to Get Over It?

For much of the last forty years, ever since America “fixed” its race problem in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, we white people have been impatient with African Americans who continued to blame race for their difficulties. Often we have heard whites ask, “When are African Americans finally going to get over it? Now I want to ask: “When are we White Americans going to get over our ridiculous obsession with skin color?
Recent reports that “Election Spurs Hundreds’ of Race Threats, Crimes” should frighten and infuriate every one of us. Having grown up in “Bombingham,” Alabama in the 1960s, I remember overhearing an avalanche of comments about what many white classmates and their parents wanted to do to John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Eventually, as you may recall, in all three cases, someone decided to do more than “talk the talk.”
Since our recent presidential election, to our eternal shame we are once again hearing the same reprehensible talk I remember from my boyhood.
We white people have controlled political life in the disunited colonies and United States for some 400 years on this continent. Conservative whites have been in power 28 of the last 40 years. Even during the eight Clinton years, conservatives in Congress blocked most of his agenda and pulled him to the right. Yet never in that period did I read any headlines suggesting that anyone was calling for the assassinations of presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, or either of the Bushes. Criticize them, yes. Call for their impeachment, perhaps. But there were no bounties on their heads. And even when someone did try to kill Ronald Reagan, the perpetrator was non-political mental case who wanted merely to impress Jody Foster.
But elect a liberal who happens to be Black and we’re back in the sixties again. At this point in our history, we should be proud that we’ve proven what conservatives are always saying — that in America anything is possible, EVEN electing a black man as president. But instead we now hear that school children from Maine to California are talking about wanting to “assassinate Obama.”
Fighting the urge to throw up, I can only ask, “How long?” How long before we white people realize we can’t make our nation, much less the whole world, look like us? How long until we white people can – once and for all – get over this hell-conceived preoccupation with skin color? How long until we white people get over the demonic conviction that white skin makes us superior? How long before we white people get over our bitter resentments about being demoted to the status of equality with non-whites?
How long before we get over our expectations that we should be at the head of the line merely because of our white skin? How long until we white people end our silence and call out our peers when they share the latest racist jokes in the privacy of our white-only conversations? I believe in free speech, but how long until we white people start making racist loudmouths as socially uncomfortable as we do flag burners? How long until we white people will stop insisting that blacks exercise personal responsibility, build strong families, educate themselves enough to edit the Harvard Law Review, and work hard enough to become President of the United States, only to threaten to assassinate them when they do?
How long before we starting “living out the true meaning” of our creeds, both civil and religious, that all men and women are created equal and that “red and yellow, black and white” all are precious in God’s sight? Until this past November 4, I didn’t believe this country would ever elect an African American to the presidency. I still don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see us white people get over our racism problem. But here’s my three-point plan: First, everyday that Barack Obama lives in the White House that Black Slaves Built, I’m going to pray that God (and the Secret Service) will protect him and his family from us white people. Second, I’m going to report to the FBI any white person I overhear saying, in seriousness or in jest, anything of a threatening nature about President Obama. Third, I’m going to pray to live long enough to see America surprise the world once again, when white people can “in spirit and in truth” sing of our damnable color prejudice, “We HAVE overcome.”
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It takes a Village to protect our President!!!

Recently, some people in the press have chosen to take on Michelle Obama as the favorite villain to attack. It smacks of the kind of press that Senator Clinton complained about during her campaign. Do you call it sexist? Is it fair game? The most frustrating thing about it is the fact that in the case of Michelle Obama, the sexism takes a different twist. It would certainly be totally unacceptable If some called Senator Clinton, the former first lady, Bill’s “baby momma”. How about calling First Lady Laura Bush Georges’ “baby momma. To do so would no doubt bring forth cries of treason, not just from defenders of womens’ issues but from the country at large. Yet, in today’s atmosphere, there has been no outcry in defense of Michelle Obama. Why? Please read the following article and see what you think.

The Loud Silence Of Feminists

By Mary C. Curtis

Saturday, June 21, 2008; Page A17

Michelle Obama has become an issue in the presidential campaign even though she isn’t running for anything. An educated, successful lawyer, devoted wife and caring mother has been labeled “angry” and unpatriotic and snidely referred to as Barack Obama’s “baby mama.”

Democrats, Republicans, independents, everyone should be offended.

And this black woman is wondering: Where are Obama’s feminist defenders? Read on…

The Presidential campaign for Senator Barack Obama has changed the way the internet is used for fund raising and information dissemination. Throughout the campaign his opponents have attempted stay up to speed and have tried to paint Senator Obama with their own brush. Senator Obama and his staff have brilliantly stayed off the attempts to smear and denigrate his beliefs. The latests addition to the My.BarackObama.com website is a site called “Fight the Smears”.

The site promises this: “What you won’t hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon–that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.” -Barack Obama, June 3, 2008-

Each time a smear is noted by someone on the internet they are to forward the information on to this watchdog site. The smears and false statements will be addressed directly and quickly. Here are a few of the Smears already out there in the spider web and each is taken on directly and forcefully. Please read on…

I recently received this email from a relative. It contains lovely family photos covering the important people in Senator Obama’s life. Please Stop for a moment, click here and : Meet Barack……

Who is this man Barack and where did he come from? A picture is worth a thousand words! … ….

Barack Obama is giving his family the best present he could think of this weekend after winning his titanic primary contest with Hillary Clinton: some of his time.

Obama Photo Gallery

WHERE DID HE COME FROM?FATHER and MOTHER

MOTHER and SONFATHER and SON

Barack Obama Sr. poses with his son in the Honolulu airport during Obama Sr.’s only visit to see his son while he was growing up in Hawaii . Young Barack was in the 5th gradewhen the photo was taken.Barack Obama Sr., a native of Kenya , met his future wife while they were students at the University of Hawaii . In 1963, he essentially abandoned his family to continue his studies at Harvard.

Grandparents and Mom

THE DUNHAMS: precocious, self-assuredStanley Ann (left); her impetuous father,who named his only child after himself; her mother, Madelyn, the quiet, firm influence in the home.

At their home in Jakarta , Ann Dunham poses in this undated photo with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, their daughter, Maya, and Barack Obama.Mom, Sister and BarackWHAT ARE GRANDPARENTS?

Barack with grandfather

Barack Obama with his maternal grandparents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham during a 1982 visit to New York , where Obama was attending Columbia . (Courtesy of The Obama Family

Barack Obama walks with his grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama at his father’s house in Nyongoma Kogelo village, western Kenya , in Aug. 2006. (AP file)

In this Obama Family photo are: (bottom row, from left) half-sister Auma, her mother Kezia Obama, Obama’s step-grandmother Sarah Hussein Onyango Obama and unknown; (top row, from left) unknown, Barack Obama, half-brother Abongo (Roy) Obama, and three unknowns. (Courtesy of the Obama Family)FATHERBarack Obama as a toddler. (Courtesy of Barack Obama)(Barack Obama as a child. (Courtesy of Barack Obama)Barack walks along Waikiki Beach shortly before he and his mother moved from Hawaii to Indonesia to live with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, in 1967. Barack poses with his mother, Ann, half sister, Maya, and maternal grandfather Stanley Dunham in Hawaii in the early 1970s after the family returned from Indonesia. Neighbors remember the close relationship between youngBarack and his grandfather.

A page from Barack Obama’s senior yearbook features his personalized message to family, friends and teammates. (Photo from The Oahuan yearbook / March 23, 2007) Barack Obama hugs his younger half sister Maya at his high school graduation

Barack Obama shakes hands during his graduation ceremony from Punahou School in 1979. While in his early teens, Obama chose to stay at the school and live with his grandparents after his mother decided to move back to Jakarta , Indonesia.

At his high school graduation, Barack Obama gets a hug from his grandmother Madelyn as his grandfather Stanley beams. His maternal grandparents raised Obama in Hawaii while his mother was living in Indonesia .

Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack Obama’s half sister, teaches her Education in American Society class at the University of Hawaii ..

The wedding day of Barack Obama Jr. and Michelle LaVaughn Robinson…… (Courtesy of the Obama Family)

Quotations:‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’

I was thrilled to receive the following notice concerning the upcoming coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Please stay tuned. This blog will stay abreast of what is going on at the DNC. Thankfully we will all be able to see the beautiful world through the spider web. Please read on:

It turns out that a record number of blogs will receive credentials for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. And it appears that the DNC leadership took time to consider the issue of diversity in this round of selections.I am very proud of the African American bloggers who raised the red flag when the State Bloggers Corp was announced earlier this month. I am very proud of the private discussions and the very public discussions that allowed the DNC to correct a potential controversy from extending further into the summer. The end result is that our powerful politically-based Black bloggers in the afrosphere will be connecting the rest of us to the sights and sounds of a truly historic event in Denver later this year.Villagers — WE WON! Never before have blogs been included in such strong numbers and provided with resources that will enable them to be the eyes and ears of so many at the Convention.The following blogs have been credentialed:

Traditional observance

Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. US Eastern time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers usually place an American flag upon each grave site located in a National Cemetery.

In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also used as a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events.

One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. Some Americans also view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season. The national “Click It or Ticket” campaign ramps up beginning Memorial Day weekend, noting the beginning of the most dangerous season for auto accidents and other safety related incidents. The U.S. Air Force‘s “101 Critical Days of Summer” begin on this day as well. Many Americans use Memorial Day to also honor any family members who have died, not just servicemen.

Memorial Day formerly occurred on May 30, and some, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address, “Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public’s nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.”[1]Hawaii‘s Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has repeatedly introduced measures to return Memorial Day to its traditional day since 1987.

Freed Slaves Celebrated The First Memorial Day

The first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard; a very daring thing to do in the South shortly after North’s victory. On May 30 1868 the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they’d picked from the countryside & decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic marking the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns. These observances eventually coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days. Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were very few veterans of the Union Army who lived in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.[1].

The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967 . On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend and for the first time recognized Columbus Day as a federal holiday. The holidays included Washington‘s Birthday (which evolved into Presidents’ Day), Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971 . After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply at the state level, all fifty states adopted the measure within a few years, although Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer close on Columbus Day or Veterans Day, and an increasing number are staying open on President’s Day as well. Memorial Day, however, has endured as one holiday during which most businesses stay closed because it marks the beginning of the “summer vacation season,” as does neighboring Canada‘s Victoria Day, which occurs just before, on the third Monday in May.

As we celebrate this Memorial Day, Let all of American stand and proudlyproclaim that we have each played a part in making America the great country that it is. From the beginning each color, race, creed, religion, culture, state, class, and faith have come together to make up this great melting pot we all call home. As we look back on the Memorial Day we just celebrated let us all be proud and pause in a moment of silence…

↑Crispus Attucks – First Patriot killed in the Boston Massacre on March 6, 1770

Liz Trotter on Fox wishes that Obama was assassinated and gleefully laughs. We always feared that Hillary’s comments would inspire some wacko out there, but not one in the plain view of the nation. Shouldn’t this be investigated in some way, by someone? After all, it sounds like encouraging a violent act, which is not covered by free speech.